These are the cupcakes I recently made for a precious baby girl’s christening celebration. Her mother E._ chose chocolate banana and devil’s food chocolate as cake base and wanted an assortment of decoration. In addition to the baby icon toppers made of hand-molded chocolate (see Sweet Baby), there were also marshmallow flowers (see Blooming Garden) atop the ganache-slathered cupcakes.
E._ also wanted her daughter’s name spelled out on the cupcakes. Fortunately, I was able to find an alphabet chocolate mold.
When I made the delivery and was setting up, E._ asked me if I had a hard time making all those cupcakes (there were 96 in all). Not really, I said. Ok, molding chocolate candies is admittedly tedious especially if there are details and colors involved but as long as you do them ahead of time, then there is no problem. I always believe that if you love what you are doing, then the work becomes less of a chore and more of a labor of love. And seeing your handiwork being appreciated by the person receiving them erases all the tiredness and aches and makes your sleep-deprived days worth it.
Thank you very much E._!
March 29th, 2010
Monogrammed Cupcakes – cupcakes glazed with shiny ganache with lettering on top. Cake base include devil’s food, banana, mocha, chocolate chip. Price available upon request.
Someone recently inquired if I make cupcakes with letters on top. They would be for her wedding, she said. I have never decorated cupcakes like that before so I though I might as well try.
Doing calligraphy on top of a perfectly glazed cake or cupcake is trickier than it seems — what if I ruin the cake with my awful writing? I am always in awe of the commercial cakes with beautiful writing on them—Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Merry Christmas. Are the staff assigned to this task hired for their penmanship skills or are they trained in the art of fancy lettering? I wonder. As for me, I need to have a cheat sheet of the letters. And I have to practice, practice, practice.
The darkness of the ganache sets off each letter very well. The decorated cupcake looks simple, clean and elegant which is perfect for a wedding favor. For less formal occasions, the lettering can also be whimsical. The icing I used for the letters is buttercream. I initially thought of using fondant and writing the letter on top but as I have said, I am not a fan of fondant. I think chocolate molded letters will also work well.
March 12th, 2010
